Power authority: Turkey offers to send fuel to run Gaza power plant

Jan. 14, 2017 7:43 P.M. (Updated: Jan. 15, 2017 9:11 P.M.)

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The deputy president of Gaza's power authority said Saturday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has offered to ship fuel to the Gaza Strip to run the besieged coastal enclave's sole power plant, in order to help lighten the crippling electricity crisis that has sparked widespread protests in recent days.

Even at full capacity, Egyptian and Israeli electricity grids, together with Gaza's power plant, fail to cover the Gaza Strip’s energy needs. The power plant has not run at full capacity in years, with Israel's crippling blockade severely limiting fuel imports into the coastal enclave.

The power authority's Deputy President Fathi Sheikh Khalil made his remarks during a workshop organized by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in the Gaza Strip.